There is a large sign outside my local pub which reads “Half term holiday .. Kids eat for £1” which means that this establishment is definitely a ‘no-go area’ for the present. That is unless, of course, you like your steak and chips accompanied by screaming brats and having your drink knocked over by someone’s totally out of control little angel. If you are really unlucky you might be treated to some mini-monster’s tantrum at the next table, or a mouthful of abuse (and food) from some burger munching mother who thinks you are a paedophile for daring to glance sideways at her table banging brood.
Now I know that the days of .. “children should be seen and not heard” .. are long gone, and Um ! I’m not quite rightly so: but Blimey ! there are hundreds of places to take the kids for a meal: places that are truly ‘family friendly’, where the little darlings can stuff themselves with junk food, slurp that slushy stuff they so love and avoid miserable old farts like me.
So, I’m afraid that, in my grumpy opinion, children and pubs just do not mix: and, am I missing something here, or can it really be that the greedy giant brewery chains, who have ruined so many of our traditional hostelries, make more profit from chicken nuggets, fish fingers and slices of pizza served to youngsters, who would probably like to be somewhere else, than they would make from all those ‘three courses and a bottle of wine or two’ adults who see the sign .. “Family Friendly” .. as a warning to ..
… stay away !
bigjohn 
